Remember the Seahawks!

After last week's post a friend of mine, whose name I won't mention, who happens to be a Seattle fan took issue with the fact that I'd written about the losing Superbowl team. I acknowledged the validity of his point and promised him this post. :-) So here are some winning thoughts served with a slice of Manning pie.

Just as the Superbowl was about to kick off, my sister, who lives in Seattle, posted this facebook status,

"Still trying to understand the rules of this American football game. Why are there 12 players for the Seahawks and only one player for the Broncos (Peyton Manning)?"

I thought it was a brilliant comment on the way the two teams had been portrayed. I'm a big Manning fan, so if he had run out onto the field in the Superbowl in a Seahawks jersey I'd have been cheering for the Seahawks. I suspect that many others around the country allocated their Superbowl loyalties based upon their like or dislike of Peyton Manning. He became a larger than life character in this sporting drama.

In contrast, when I reflect on the persona projected by Seattle I keep coming back to the ideas of team and community.

1. Seattle has successfully embraced fan enthusiasm by honoring the crowd as The 12th Man. (11 players are on the field at any given time.) This relationship with fans has made Seattle one of the loudest stadiums in which to play and helped Seattle to only one loss over the past two season. Seattle actually holds the world record for the most crowd noise at a sporting event. That roar even created a small earthquake!! 

2. Although Russell Wilson has provided some great quarterback play and team leadership, the heart and soul of the team is it's defense. Richard Sherman has attracted a lot of media attention in the role of a bad boy with a big mouth. But the strength of the Seahawks defense has been a group of players labelled "The Legion of Boom". When compared to the singular focus Peyton Manning has received, the fact that Seattle's engine room consists of a group of players makes a significant point. Individuals can't win championships in a team sport.

3. As this story describes, even Pete Carroll, the Seattle coach, was willing to take a tackle for the benefit of the team. This style of leadership and commitment are contagious and help establish a team first mentality among the players.

There are so many ways to take these points and apply them to churches. I think I'll let you do most of the heavy lifting on this one. But here's a couple of summary thoughts.

1. The concept of the 12th Man is all about giving fans a slice of ownership in the team. As this article describes this ownership creates community that (at least for a little while) energizes a city. Churches need to have this same goal. Members want to be part of something bigger than themselves. People long for community and contributing to a greater good. How does your church communicate inclusion and value to each member?

2. Church isn't just about the individual. Yes, it's a community that God uses to speak into the lives of individuals, but it doesn't stop there. Being part of the body of Christ means that sometimes we'll put our bodies on the line for the benefit of others. That's teamwork. That's church. That's Jesus. As a church leader I have to regularly ask myself how I'm modelling this value.

How to Lose the Superbowl

Given the title I'm resisting the very strong temptation to simply write, "Have Peyton Manning as your QB". But that would put Manning in Buffalo Bills territory and that would be unfair since he does have one of those big, shiny rings in his trophy room.

But let me say this about the Superbowl. "WOW, THAT WAS CRAZY!!!!" Did anyone see that coming? From the first snap Denver looked like they were still in a different time zone! The image of the ball sailing past Manning's head to start the game is one that will stick with me for a long time.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a Colts fan, that means I'm a Manning fan, and that means that on Sunday I was a Denver fan. He seems to be a man of tremendous character, and with a very dry sense of humour that I like. He has richly deserved all the league MVP's that he's won. His comeback from neck injury and a year out of the game is remarkable.

The Superbowl loss was certainly not all about Manning. Defense and special teams also had games to forget. The Broncos never gave a hint that they were going to compete in this game. It was extremely disappointing. Before the game Denver was actually the favourite, but they played like they wanted to win first pick in the draft!! This was the largest Superbowl blowout in 20+ years!

So, "How to lose the Superbowl?"

1. Miss tackles. 
2. Give the opponent points on the first play of the game.
3. Miss tackles... and blocks.
4. Let the opposition pressure the QB and tip passes.
5. Miss tackles.
6. Throw more interceptions than touchdowns.
7. Did I mention, Miss tackles.

But there's another way to lose the Superbowl that Manning also aced. If you're going to lose, lose with grace. Did you catch this story, about Manning making the effort to come back and sign an autograph for a beer vendor and others at a time he surely just wanted to be alone. Or did you hear about how Richard Sherman, villain to Manning's halo in this game, described Peyton checking with him post game to see how serious the injury was?

If you're going to lose, that's how you lose a Superbowl. With your integrity intact.

In 2 Corinthians 8:2 Paul gives this description of some churches he'd visited, "Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts." (Message)

These churches found themselves with their backs against the wall, yet they didn't dwell on their own circumstances. Even in the middle of personal trial they wanted to serve and help others. It's easy to love our neighbours after we win our personal Superbowls, or life is breezy. Loving our neighbours when our circumstances suck requires a lot a character. Some people can do it because of their personality, most of us require the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to truly love others while dealing with our own personal hurt.

So thank you Peyton Manning. Not for losing, but for losing with grace.

Related Links:

• A friend shared a similar blog post HERE. 

Is God a Spiritual Steroid for Athletes?

Thanks to my friend Tim Archer (read his blog here) for pointing me to this article.

A recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute reveals that over one quarter of Americans believe God influences the outcomes of sports events.

"While only about 3-in-10 (27%) Americans, believe that God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event, a majority (53%) believe that God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success."

I'm not sure that these numbers should surprise me, but they do. 27% of Americans think that God cares who wins the Superbowl this Sunday. 53% believe Christian athletes will be more successful because God will reward their faith!

27% of Americans think that God who:

• created the world, 
• died on the cross for our sins, 
• defeated death in his resurrection, 
• maintains the struggle against sin and Satan, 
• calls people to enter his kingdom and be transformed into his likeness while carrying out his mission, 

also cares who wins a football game in New Orleans this Sunday, and will take the time and effort to influence the outcome!!!!!! One quarter!!!! I'm flabbergasted!!!!

So does the Superbowl really come down to talent, focus, absence of injuries, X and O's, or just which team has the most Christians on it?

This survey brings me back to the article by Josh Graves that inspired this blog, "Is it OK to pray for your team to win Super Bowl 2012?" I encourage you to read that article. Josh did an excellent job of answering the question.

God cares about people, not scores. God cares for the kids with cancer in both Baltimore and San Francisco and while one may end the game ecstatic and the other devastated, God cares for both. He cares that their treatment is effective. He cares that they have the family and emotional support they need. He cares that they know Him. He doesn't care so much about the trophy presentation Sunday night.

Then 53% of Americans believe God assists Christian athletes?!?! All I can say is I don't think he does a very good job. According to this site, "In March 2004 he donated all $700,000 of his second place finish in the Accenture Match Play Championship to the building fund at St. Simons Presbyterian Church." This article in the Christian Chronicle describes how Kenny Perry is a deacon of a Church of Christ in Franklin, Kentucky and has donated 5% of his winnings to Lipscomb University throughout his career. While both Davis Love III and Kenny Perry have been tremendously successful golfers, their accomplishments don't come close to matching Tiger Woods who makes no profession of faith in Christ and was revealed as a serial adulterer several years ago.

As you look around the sports world there have certainly been successful athletes who are Christians, but seldom are they the most dominant player in their sport. So God must only be good for a bit of a performance boost, but not enough to get you all the way to the top!

Of all the information in the report I found this observation the most telling:

"Americans say religion is significantly more important to their lives than their fan affiliation, but they are about as likely to watch sports each week as they are to attend religious services."

It's as though we know the right answer to give, but our actions reveal another story. Of course there could be several reasons this is true:

• Sports are on TV more often than church services are held.
• Fans might watch 20 minutes of a game and then go to bed, which is hard to compare to a minimum 1 hour commitment at a church building.
• Many people no longer associate faith with attending religious services.
• Perhaps you can think of more.

It's true that religious services don't provide the full measure of a person's commitment to Christ, but I hope we all agree they provide some measure. When we discover that sports dominate our leisure time and casual conversations, it's time to dedicate ourselves to our relationship with God again. We know it's important, but we don't set priorities based on importance.

May each of us keep God and his mission as our priorities, not just in our heads, while enjoying the entertainment that is sports.